
Chinese carmaker GAC aims for production capacity in Brazil by 2030
SHANGHAI -- Chinese state-owned automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) plans to establish supply chains to produce vehicles in Brazil by 2030 as part of a push to expand sales there.
GAC recently unveiled five models at an event in Sao Paulo, including the Aion V and Hyptec HT electric sport utility vehicles. The automaker aims to integrate into Brazil and contribute to the country, GAC International President Wei Haigang said.
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The Mainichi
9 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Career pathways in the US dim for international students as Trump cracks down on visas
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Since coming from China as a teenager for boarding school, Bob Zeng has imagined building a career in the United States. But as he prepared to graduate Thursday from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it felt like the last chapter of his life in America. Zeng said he has been rethinking his plans because of the Trump administration's pledge to aggressively revoke the visas of Chinese students. Having completed a masters degree in science and management, he is thinking about moving to Europe. Or going home to China. "I am worried about working here," said Zeng, 30. "You never know what's going to happen." Many international students come to the U.S. with hopes of gaining work experience and returning to their home countries or pursuing a career in the U.S. But the administration's intensifying scrutiny of international students -- and signs that formal career pathways for them may be closed -- are leading some to reconsider their plans. Beyond the steps the administration already has taken -- expanding the grounds for terminating students' ability to study in the U.S., adding new vetting for student visas, moving to block foreign enrollment at Harvard -- a key nominee has raised the possibility of ending a program that encourages international students to stay and gain work experience. About 240,000 of the 1.1 million people on student visas in the U.S. are on Optional Practical Training -- a one-year post-graduation period where they are authorized to work in fields related to their degrees. It can last up to three years for graduates in science, math and technology fields. President Donald Trump's nominee for director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, said during his confirmation hearing on May 21 that he would like to see an end to post-graduate work authorization for international students. "What I want to see would be essentially a regulatory and sub-regulatory program that would allow us to remove the ability for employment authorizations for F-1 students beyond the time that they are in school," said Edlow, referring to the F-1 visas on which most international students attend college in the U.S. A program offers international students a foothold for careers in the US The opportunity to gain career experience at U.S. companies, especially in technology and other fields where American companies dominate, has long been a draw of studying here. Many enter the H-1B visa lottery, hoping to be selected for one of the employer-sponsored visas that offer a pathway to permanent residency in the United States. Threatening practical training opportunities would have long-term consequences for the U.S. in attracting international students, said Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA, which represents international educators. "We turn global talent away at our own expense," Aw said. Like many international students, Marko, 29, finds himself glued to the news with a growing sense of alarm. His Optional Practical Training expires in a month, and he has applied for an extension but hasn't heard back, leaving him in limbo. Lawyers for the tech company where he works in New York City advised him to carry proof of his legal status in his wallet, which he finds "dehumanizing." "The message being sent now is that: You are not one of us, and we are going to get rid of you," said Marko, who asked that only his first name be used because he is worried about being targeted for removal from the country. He has lived in the U.S. for a decade spanning college and graduate school, but his family and friends back home have encouraged him to leave. His hope is that he gets the OPT extension and can then apply for an H-1B visa and continue his life in the U.S., but he also worries about anti-immigrant sentiment and who will be targeted next. Guy, an HIV researcher at Mount Sinai Hospital who declined to provide his last name for fear of retaliation, came to the United States in 2018 for a PhD program at New York University. He's now in his second year of OPT and would have to return to the United Kingdom if the program was terminated. Although he still feels welcome in New York City, he said it feels like there's a "war on immigrants in this country." "It's not a particularly attractive place to stay and do science right now," he said. Foreign students have been targeted on several fronts In his first administration, Trump floated the idea of curtailing OPT, but that did not materialize. During the campaign, he suggested he would give green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges, a sentiment that students and educators hoped would signal more welcoming policies. But his administration has cracked down on international students in several ways. In April, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began terminating the legal status of people with student visas who appeared in a database of police encounters. Many caught up in that effort were on OPT, and had to leave their jobs or risk violating laws about working without legal authorization. ICE eventually restored students' status after widespread legal challenges, but not before some chose to leave the country pre-emptively, fearing deportation. In mid-May, some recent graduates received letters threatening to terminate their status if they did not update their employment records. While the letters gave them an opportunity to fix any reporting issues, it sent another wave of uncertainty through international graduates. This week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the government would move to revoke visas of Chinese students with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in "critical" fields. Yurong "Luanna" Jiang, a Chinese student who graduated Thursday from Harvard University, said in an interview that she had hoped to stay in the U.S. for a few years but she has been unsettled by the Trump administration's crackdown on visas. "In terms of the plan going forward, I would say everything is up in the air at this point," said Jiang, who is now open to going anywhere in the world to work in international development. "At this point, it's difficult to say what will happen." ___ Gecker reported from San Francisco, Toness and Michael Casey contributed from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Collin Binkley contributed from Washington.


Yomiuri Shimbun
12 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
China Hopes to Improve Japan Ties Amid Conflict with U.S.; Resumption of Japanese Seafood Imports Seen as Attempt to Boost Ties with Neighbors
The Yomiuri Shimbun Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, second from left, speaks at a meeting to expand exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday. Japan and China agreed to begin procedures to resume exports of Japanese marine products to China. Amid Beijing's conflict with Washington, China is hoping the move will improve bilateral ties with Japan. However, the resumption of exports of Japanese marine products will only apply to 37 prefectures, excluding Tokyo and nine other prefectures. The Japanese side will continue to seek the resumption of exports from these 10 prefectures as well as China's positive responses to other bilateral issues. 'This could be a big step forward in tackling various issues between Japan and China,' Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said at a press conference on Friday. China imposed a total ban on imports of Japanese marine products in response to the release of treated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean. The release began in August 2023. Beijing subsequently launched a campaign criticizing the release at international conferences and other venues, saying, 'The Pacific Ocean is not a sewer for Japan's 'nuclear-contaminated water.'' Perceiving China's move as a way to undermine Japan's position in the international community, the Japanese government focused on winning the understanding of various countries, including South Korea and Pacific island nations. Japan had urged China to withdraw the embargo while spreading the view that there was no scientific evidence to support Beijing's ban. Under the latest agreement, such documents as an inspection certificate for radioactive tritium will be required for the initial exports, but the export procedures are expected to be almost the same as before August 2023. 'It took time, but we were able to achieve results without making major concessions,' a senior Foreign Ministry official said. Since U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term in January, Chinese President Xi Jinping's government has been at odds with Washington over tariffs. It is thought that China's move to resume imports of Japanese marine products is part of efforts to quickly improve ties with neighboring countries. The Chinese side hopes to attract more investments by improving ties with Japan. In 2024, direct investment in China by foreign companies declined 60% compared to the previous year, the lowest level since 1992. At the same time, China is marking this year as 'the 80th anniversary of winning the war against Japan,' inflaming people's patriotism. Some believe China worked to quickly reach an agreement with Japan because it would become more difficult for Beijing to make moves that could be seen as making concessions to Japan as the date neared Sept. 3, which marks the anniversary of China winning the war against Japan. However, some on the Chinese side have made certain remarks that raise doubts about whether the country wants to improve relations with Japan. At a press conference on Friday, Lin Jian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, referred to the treated water as 'nuclear-contaminated water.' As the Chinese government has criticized Japan, it is believed that China is slowly introducing measures to improve ties with Japan while considering public opinion at home. The decision not to include marine products from the 10 prefectures may be part of that effort. Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to visit Japan this year for a trilateral summit meeting between Japan, China and South Korea. Japan is to chair the summit. If realized, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's first visit to China may also be considered. However, there are still many issues between Japan and China, including ensuring the safety of Japanese residents in China and China's violation of Japanese airspace with its aircraft flying near the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture. Japan plans to cautiously explore ways to improve relations with China because the issue of economic security, with China in mind, is on the agenda for Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations. 'We will carefully move forward with our diplomacy with China one step at a time while comprehensively seeing how the U.S.-China conflict and the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations will unfold,' said a Japanese government official.


Kyodo News
17 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: May 30, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 14 hours ago - 23:00 | All, Japan, World The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- China agrees to begin steps to resume Japanese seafood imports: Tokyo TOKYO - Japan's government said Friday that China has agreed to begin procedures to resume imports of Japanese seafood, lifting a ban imposed after the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. Chinese authorities are expected to issue a public notice easing the blanket ban that has been in place since August 2023 and soon open registration for Japanese facilities that process and preserve marine products, sources familiar with the matter said. ---------- Japan, U.S. tariff negotiators to hold another round of talks WASHINGTON - Japan's chief tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, will hold another round of talks on Friday with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as the two governments explore a possible agreement to be reached by their leaders next month. On the eve of the talks, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump by phone, telling reporters afterward that each side was able to gain a better understanding of the views held by the other. ---------- Japan Diet begins debate on dual surname bill for 1st time in 28 yrs TOKYO - Japan's parliament on Friday began its first deliberations in 28 years on legislation that would give married couples the option of keeping different surnames. The passage of any of the three bills submitted separately by three opposition parties, however, looks unlikely during the current Diet session through late June, despite growing public acceptance of their push to change the longstanding rule requiring married couples to share a single family name. ---------- Report says N. Korea illegally gave 100 ballistic missiles to Russia SEOUL - North Korea provided Russia with at least 100 ballistic missiles last year in exchange for air defense systems and electronic jamming equipment, in clear violation of U.N. sanctions, the first report by an international monitoring body showed Thursday. The report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, led by Japan, the United States and South Korea, stressed that both countries are engaging in illegal arms transfers, urging the international community to strengthen monitoring and information-sharing efforts. ---------- Japan PM may attend NATO summit in late June in the Netherlands TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is considering attending a NATO summit meeting to be held in late June in the Netherlands, government sources said Friday, as Japan moves to demonstrate its closer ties with the trans-Atlantic defense alliance. If Ishiba attends, it will be the fourth straight year the sitting Japanese leader has done so. This year's gathering will be held on June 24 and 25 in The Hague. ---------- Japan's former Princess Mako gives birth to 1st child TOKYO - Mako Komuro, Crown Prince Fumihito's eldest daughter who married out of the imperial family, gave birth to her first child, the Imperial Household Agency said Friday. The 33-year-old mother and the child -- the first grandchild of the crown prince and the first great-grandchild of former Emperor Akihito -- are both in good health, a source close to the matter said. ---------- Japan, Bangladesh agree on defense equipment, tech transfer pact TOKYO - Japan and Bangladesh on Friday agreed in principle to conclude a pact for the transfer of defense equipment and technology, reiterating their commitment to stability in the Indo-Pacific region as China's influence grows, the Japanese government said. In a joint statement after talks in Tokyo, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of Bangladesh's interim government, said they have instructed negotiators to speed up discussions on an economic partnership agreement. ---------- Japan eyes more rice exports as domestic consumption set to decline TOKYO - The Japanese government on Friday vowed to explore new overseas markets and provide support for more efficient production as part of efforts to increase rice exports in response to an envisioned long-term contraction in domestic consumption. In the annual white paper on food and agriculture for fiscal 2024 approved by the Cabinet, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries recommends increased rice exports despite the Japanese government recently introducing measures to curb soaring domestic prices, driven in part by shortages. Video: Japan Business Federation appoints new chief